Ten days have passed since my Aura was freed.

I've gained quite a bit of control of it. The past few days I've been training with Claire, no, she didn't particularly need blade training.

Her skills definitely surpass my own. As our many duels had made perfectly clear.

No, this time we were training something a tad more intimate.

Yeah, we were training to deal with the problem we had actually run into a few times while i was meditating and accessing the mass of mana in my gut.

She now sat opposite me on a rock submerged by about four inches of water. It was enough so that any accidents would be taken care of by the flow of the river.

The first three days were fairly unsuccessful but she'd managed to get the hang of it.

She was now able to hold it in if I warned her, but surprise bursts she couldn't handle.

Well, baby steps.

We'd managed quiet a bit of distance. Claire after leaving her mothers camp said she planned to go back to Havas but I wouldn't have it. My pride was now on this mission.

I know the real mission was always to get me to meet with the witch Joye and release my mana, but still Bandits using my name is unacceptable.

After our river training concluded for the day we both spent an hour training on our own. This had become something of a routine. It had started with me wanting to practice with my aura control. But Claire seemed to get into it too and was alternating training with a sword and her void magic.

Oh, when I say 'practice' with her sword, normally that just meant her running over to me and forcing me to duel her. I tried to turn her down once but she was difficult. I now just accept and exchange blows with her until noon, then we continue to head out up river until nightfall.

I was somewhat amazed how for away Colgate was from Godrick. I understood why there was no road at this point. But it still seemed like something that should be made. How do people even safely carry goods between Godrick and Colgate?

Was there really no route?

Ah, really. If I was the count that's the first thing I'd do to handle the bandit situation. If the villages in trouble had a rapid way garnering forces between villages, they could fight off just about any adversary.

But I suppose I would never have that level of authority though.

The Blood Hook Tribes education of the world was something we kept strictly secret.

If the world knew that every technology they cherished was something their most hated enemies had invented. The world would likely erupt into chaos. The church would surely lose their mind.

It was semi-ironic the church's one main teaching was the treachery of our tribe. But they wouldn't have been able to even build the structure they stood in without our instruction on how to make concrete. They wouldn't have been able to spread their teachings without our instructions on parchment manufacturing.

Oh, another interesting topic while on the subject of innovations.

They actually still use the ancient roman formula for concrete in this world. Its said to be lost to the ages on earth. This ultimately lead me to conclude the first mind they had harvested from Earth was likely from quite a long time ago.

It's no wonder they stopped at a certain level of technology. It wasn't because they were satisfied with the level, this world had simply caught up to that of the minds.

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The next day I began to grow worried. Have we somehow branched onto another river? It wasn't impossible.

There were several places where two large rivers would join into the coil. How were you supposed to determine which was the primary river?

Am I missing something here?

Has he ever worked as a cartographer?

Claire was again training to open two voids at the same time. I ask about her reasoning but she just shrugs me off and tells me to go away.

Rude, but I follow her advice and go to cultivate more mana. I have recently discovered I could continue to do this. The tingling feeling was something I felt everywhere I went.

According to Joye there is mana in all plants and animals, so its likely I'm drawing mana from there. Its seemingly endless though, what was once a single stone of mana had know turning into a stew of several stones and loads of boiling mana.

I honestly wasn't sure the purpose of this but collecting it was addicting so I continue with it.

After condensing the remaining mana that was boiled into a sharp stone I settle it with the rest deep in my gut. I still wasn't entirely sure if these were actual objects or just metaphorical descriptors. But I didn't care much for explanations.

I just knew I could feel the change each time I added a stone, and the feeling was intoxicating.

Honestly what can I even do with this power? Other than make Claire pee herself? But really what good is that?

I suppose it did knock Claire and Joye over when I released it that first time.

That could be fairly handy on the battle field. Especially if I could focus it towards a single direction, or even towards a single person.

Oh, yeah. Actually, I'm beginning to see the power of this magic.

And the name for it Joye had mentioned was honestly pretty bad-ass, 'Chaos' Specialization. The name doesn't do much to describe it but I'll take it.

Claire was again the first to notice the danger, but I will excuse myself by saying 'I was meditating so my focus was elsewhere.'

Yeah I'll go with that.

Opening my eyes and peering in the direction that Claire had drawn her sword I notice we were vastly out numbered. There was easily a hundred to two hundred people.

Oh actually they aren't exactly people. These are Demi-humans aren't they? According to their garb most of them are villagers. Some carried thick axes or shovels but no real weapons could be seen. I caught Claire's glance and wave my hand for her to put her sword away.

She follows my words and circles behind me.

Finally, a older looking man stepped through the crowd wearing bright robes. He stepped a few feet in front of the crowd. He coughed into his palm to prepare to talk.

I wonder what this is about? Have we bother these people? We really must have ventured off the river if we had happened upon a Demi-human village.

Demi-humans are basically humans. They just possess some characteristics of animals. This tribe seemed to consists of mostly rabbit eared people and what appeared to be wolf eared people. I suppose I better hide the wolf fang I had grabbed to show off to Degin.

As well as ears their facial features seemed to slightly resemble their animal counterpart as well.

The demi-humans were a fairly peaceful people from what I understand. They mostly just hide due to the fact that the church labeled them as abominations.

"You with such great demonic aura, has our humble village done something to draw your anger?" The wolf eared man spoke with a regal sounding tone

Did he say demonic aura though?

Was my aura really still so frightening? I thought I had peaceful thoughts when I was gathering mana earlier. Perhaps I made a mistake.

A man, missing his left arm and sporting a terrified expression pipes up from behind. "I'd recognize the aura anywhere, it was that demon that attacked ten years ago. The demon wielding the dual swords!"

"Mhm, I recognized it too but as you can see its only these two here." The regal sounding village chief says to the man.

"But that girls aura also." Another man says.

"Mhm. It resembles the demon's," The chief relents to the men crowding him and pointing. "But I don't think we know the whole story."

"Am I correct in assuming you mean us no harm?" The chief once again says turning his attention back to the two of us.

"I think that's correct, Do you mean them any harm?" I Say, turning to Claire to ask.

"Nope."

"Yeah figured as much. Yeah. No, we don't mean you any harm." I assure the wolfman with a nod.

"Well, that is a relief. Please come." The man beckons, swinging his arm to the two of us and gathering a few hesitant looks before turning back towards his village.

I honestly hadn't seen it a moment ago.

But there it stood around a hundred feet from us. The village was fairly well kept. It was ornately carved. This village seem to have a very skilled craftsmen.

Every flat surface had been turned into an elaborate face or flowing pattern. It was haunting and beautiful at the same time.

Reminded me of the monuments I'd seen in a former soviet country.

We sit around a table in the village chiefs mansion. This was more of what I considered a mansion. The triple level abode was marvelously etched with hundreds of scenes on each wall.

I saw the one that seemed most important to them. It lay dead center on a main wall. A man with two blades and a demonic look on his face seemingly slaughtering hundreds. It must be hyperbole. Surely it must.

It was an extremely graphic and vivid wood carving. It made my stomach knot in my chest.

"So, you are?" The chief says after my attention returned to the table.

"My name is Drew, this is Claire. I am the Hawk of the true, 'Blood Hook tribe'."

A few rabbit eared subordinates as well as Claire drop their jaws at what I just said.

But it was something I had decided. I won't hide. I won't hide anything, how can I expect to gain trust without being honest. Of course there will be some things I hide from people but I should always be upfront when asked a question. It was how my father raised me.  

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"I see, so the attacks were by a fake." The man says rubbing his chin after a moment. "I had assumed as much when I realized you wore the demons blade at your hip. I was sure you were either the Hawk's son or Joseph's, and at your age I was sure you must have been Charles's."

"You knew my father?"

"Mhm, I knew both you're fathers for a short time."

Oh, I think I've figured this one out.

The demon attack, the twin swords, Joseph.

It's all coming together.

The demon that attacked this village was none other than Claire's father. And it had been Joseph with the help of my father who'd killed him. The spoils that he split with my father, the hero in his drunken story, were the man's blades.

Again this reinforces my thought that Claire should be the one carrying this blade and not me. I bet Joseph held the same thought, but why does he still carry the blade?

He seems an honorable man.  

I glance at Claire curious if she had understood what the village chief meant.

The image of her wiping her reddened eyes and chewing on her lip answered my question. I didn't want Joye to know about this, obviously it was something my father had kept from her so I needed to do the same. I was saddened that Claire had to hear it though.

Claire was silent for awhile as me and the village chief talk about various things.

I learn far later than I should have that this was in fact still Coil River and we had actually reached Colgate.

I had heard the name of the town a few times before but as this was my first time visiting. The fact that it was inhabited almost entirely by demi-humans was a huge surprise.   

They apparently kept to themselves as to not draw the attention of the church. When I ask weather the other villages in the grove were inhabited by demi's he tells me that they are not. This village was one of a kind at least in the county. He mentions a few in the empire to the west though.

Claire, once she finally spoke, simply apologized.

The chief assured her she had no reason to say the words but she seemed to want to anyways, so the chief accepted her words reluctantly.

Several things bothered me.

One, How was the chief able to identify the demonic aura?

Two, How was this village doing so well while its neighbors in Godrick were so poor? (they aren't poor anymore)

Three. And this one was most important to me. Why am I smelling cinnamon?

Please chief tell me you've found it, please tell me you've found it.

Is my journey perhaps over? Has my ultimate goal been accomplished!? Well OK. That wasn't my 'main goal', but as chief claimed he had no more information about the bandits than we did. This secondary job definitely did jump up in priority.

When I ask him about it he looks confused and asks if I was referring to the smell of sawdust from the nearby craftsmen shop. He lead me and Claire to the place and sure enough whatever tree they were carving seemed to have bark that smelled exactly like cinnamon. When I asked about it the craftsmen said it wasn't poisonous it was just not commonly seen as something you eat. Well obviously, it's bitter if you just eat it. You must grind it after carefully drying it.

One of the men stuffs a chunk into his mouth when I explain its deliciousness but he then quickly spits it out saying it wasn't to his taste. Well, duh. I mean people don't just eat spices raw do they?

It was surely similar enough to cinnamon though. The smell was slightly off but I was nearly sure it would work. After grabbing a few handfuls and stuffing it into a jar I stuff the prized possession into the backpack that me and Claire take turns carrying.

With that I begin walking around the town with the chief. I figure it would be a good chance to ask about my other questions. The demonic aura he talked about earlier was apparently due to the blade I carry.

I wasn't aware, but it seems some blades can acquire some traces of mana and integrate it with their carrier. This sword seems to have absorbed heavy amounts of 'demonic' or Corrupt Mana.

When I ask about 'Corrupt Mana' he explains that mana came in a spectrum.

Pure, Chaotic, And Corrupt.

The world was mostly filled with the neutral, Chaotic, mana. It appears grey and cloudy.

But it would also manifest in the other forms from time to time. The last large burst of Corrupt mana was apparently when my father fought and killed Cal, Claire's dad.

So that would explain where the demonic aura in the blade came from. But it doesn't explain how he could tell from such a great distance?

My mana was condensed and barely any of my aura extended outside my body at the time.

I was extremely careful about it. If I made a single mistake I could easily cause a great geyser to erupt in this village. I don't want to think of the aftermath.

Had I let some escape and accidentally startled the village? wasn't my mind calm?

Mana-vision, the name wasn't great but its abilities seemed to be. The village chief claims it was something commonly taught to aspiring mages in Colgate. It was basically achieved by focusing mana into your eyes. It would allow you actually see the mana itself. He claims that the glow of my mana was something that could be seen for miles. He also explans I was something of a beacon when I arrived outside his town, a dark demonic beacon.

That was a problem. If enemies could see me from a mile away the element of surprise goes out the window, that's a crucial tool every warrior should carry.

I plead with the chief to teach me how to see mana, perhaps if I can see it, it will help me mask it too.

He relents after awhile. He pointed me in the direction of the mage's school. Claire seems interested in the skill as well, especially since it was something any specialized mage could use. Though it was extremely difficult to learn.

Controlling mana location is a master level mage skill. It's what was required for forming and temperture control magic.

We enter the tower shaped building carefully wiping our feet on the cloth at the door.

Oh! This was something our Inn needed!

It seems this town is at the forefront of welcome mat technology.

I will have to ask them to share their secrets. Or perhaps I will just share some of mine, not to be rude but I believe mine may be a bit better. As I was smirking about welcome mats the professor mage walks in to see the two new recruits he had been told about using 'intent' magic via the chief.

It was another thing in this village I had never heard of. Another all spec'd magic skill, it was the magic of transmitting your intent through a burst of mana. The village chief had shown me by telling this mage I would be visiting him.

I felt the surge of mana the village chief let out as an example. However I didn't detect any deep meaning to it. That was due to the fact that his 'intent' had been, [Send the message 'You will have two interesting new students ariving soon.' to professor mage.]

Since he had placed these conditions I only received it as a burst of mana while the mage understood it perfectly. I wonder about the range and various other things but I suppose I can experiment later if I'm able to learn it.  

"Hmm one looks about right," The man says, his eyes clouding as he gazed at Claire. "But you… Well, I don't even know. What could I even teach you?"

Honestly I'm not sure who he was referring to with either comment. He seems to be switching his gaze between the both of us.

I explain that we want to learn about 'Mana vision' and 'Intent'. So he explains the two. Almost exactly as the village chief had earlier. I ask if he had any books but he just says it was something you have to feel,

"Book's can't teach it." he says.

It was utterly useless, some teacher.

Or so I thought until he asked about the magic that Claire used, when she showed him a void he grins and opens one of his own.

"Yeah I know a few tricks for void magic." He says opening six voids and tossing a ball into one of them causing the ball to fall from void to void endlessly. I had no idea they could be used this way. No wonder Claire was training to open multiple voids. I am sorry for calling your skill useless in my mind Claire. Forgive me.

"Well I'm not as good at it as water but it's something." He says dropping a tiny ball of ice out of his fingertip with nearly no effort.

I understood from Susan's explanations that this, that I just witnessed, was no small feat.

For two reasons.

One, He had created ice from nothing, even the craftsmen make water first and then freeze it.

And two. He had used two specializations. How?

"How?" Claire gasped at the marble. "Dual Specialization?!" She asks seemingly grasping at straws, from how I understood it this was impossible, at least Susan had said as much.

"Pah! Specializations," The mage turns to a apprentice in the corner. "Hey Gob just how many decades behind are humans magic?"

Ah, yeah, it's true.

Magic research had stagnated recently. It's likely due to my father, and grandfather calling for the 'era of peaceful education'. As opposed to the former, 'Era of education by might'.

Though humanity as a whole was unaware of the call for peace they surely benefited from it. But in that time not only technology, but even magic hasn't advanced. These people have continued on though, I wonder just how much they could teach the world.

They will be a strong partner in my reforming of the world. I naturally need a group on the forefront of magical research.